Volvo wants XC40 in Oz

Volvo Australia has raised its hand for the XC40 SUV. The importer doesn't know (or won't tell) when or even if the small SUV will reach local shores, but managing director for the company, Matt Braid, is sure such a car would be a hit here.

As we reported previously, the XC40 won't get a start here for some time yet, leaving a segment competitor such as Audi's Q3 unrivalled access to buyers of the same type. Will the Volvo arrive too late, only to pick up the remaining crumbs?

"That could always be a risk... but [given] our lifecycle management of cars and product development and so forth, you can't alter once you've [taken] a certain track," said Mr Braid.

"We don't have flexibility there, so we'd rather not worry about it and just get on with it.

"If we had another XC product it would be fantastic. We'd take it today or we'd take it in future — whenever it's available. I don't think we look at ourselves losing ground against the Q3 or Audi in that regard."

It's reaching the stage that the XC-branded SUVs are creating a resonance in the minds of buyers, the Volvo chief told motoring.com.au.

"From the point of our penetration, our market [for] XC products in the Volvo range is one of the highest in the world. So anything that's got 'XC' in it, from a Volvo point of view, we'd love to have. The details of when/what, I can't comment at this stage..."

For the present, the XC60 is doing much of the heavy lifting among Volvo SUV models, but the large XC90 has struck the right chord with buyers over a longer period than most prestige SUVs are expected to soldier on. There's a new model XC90 on the way, but like the XC40, it's barely visible on the horizon.

Mr Braid concedes the current model is aging and before much longer the number of buyers for the car can be expected to decline.

"If you asked me, as Australian MD... 'what would you really like today?', the first thing I'd probably say is 'a brand new XC90'.

"It's been a fantastic product, it has sold extremely well... We sold more last year than we did the year before..."

According to Mr Braid, there are customers "who have bought three XC90s".

"But will they go a fourth one before the new model comes out?" he asked rhetorically. "That's probably a danger for us; arguably that lifecycle has been stretched too far..."

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